Scottish power meter problem

hotchywitchy

I have a house I normally rent out, the new EPC rules require me to have an Economy 7 meter fitted due to having electric heating, otherwise I can't legally let it out.

I requested this on 9/3 this year after my tenants left and I had new tenants wanting to move in.

Scottish power sent a contractor to fit the smart meter, I checked with him that it was a dual rate meter, he wasn't sure so he checked with his manager and I also rang Scottish power to confirm the meter would work.

This seemed OK until the EPC assessor came to check and couldn't confirm it was dual tariff. I have since been complaining to Scottish power who claim they haven't the system in place to configure the smart meter to dual tariff and can't come up with a resolution (I'm just supposed to wait!) meanwhile my house is empty and I have lost important income.

The last time I spoke to the complaint department I mentioned getting the Ombudsman involved as it's been over two months. Scottish Power replied that that could only be done if they haven't come up with a satisfactory resolution and as they hadn't come up with a resolution I couldn't do that! :rotfl:

I'm wondering if I can change energy suppliers to one who can fit a dual tariff meter and get it configured correctly, or am i stuck with SP until they get there act together.

Any advice would be appreciated.

missmaybesaver

The bit about the Ombudsman is wrong. If the complaint has gone on for 8 weeks without resolution then you can log a complaint via the Ombudsman. If it’s before 8 weeks then they would have needed to send a deadlock letter outlining their final position/resolution.

Some smart meters can be re-configured remotely - but maybe they use a type that can’t. You could also ask around other supplies to see if any can fit a new eco 7 meter for you after you switch.

[Deleted User]

missmaybesaver wrote: »

The bit about the Ombudsman is wrong. If the complaint has gone on for 8 weeks without resolution then you can log a complaint via the Ombudsman. If it’s before 8 weeks then they would have needed to send a deadlock letter outlining their final position/resolution.

Some smart meters can be re-configured remotely - but maybe they use a type that can’t. You could also ask around other supplies to see if any can fit a new eco 7 meter for you after you switch.

Eco 7 smart meters can not be reconfigured remotely to a single rate tariff only although I can t see a problem in doing what some suppliers do and total the two reads separately.
There are wiring differences into the meter itself and this work needs to be done by an electrician who has the correct qualifications and is familiar with the procedure
I don t expect a Scottish Power meter fitter to be adequately trained to cover this work. They can exchange a like for like meter

scones

Until very recently Scottish Power were telling people they couldn't offer Economy 7 on their smart meters.

It's unclear what the official situation is now, but a search of their online forums at https://community.scottishpower.co.uk/ brings up various posts from people having trouble.

They should be able to install a traditional meter and timeswitch setup if they can't offer a smart meter. However, they are a difficult company to deal with and in my experience it is a struggle to get any sense out of them on Economy 7 and similar setups.

If you can, move to a more competent supplier then progress the change to Economy 7.

(Frankly, Scottish Power's approach to multi-rate tariffs seems to be an utter shambles. They have thousands of customers on tariffs like Economy 7, White Meter, Comfortplus and TwinHeat controlled by obsolete radio teleswitches that won't be supported beyond next March URL="http://www.energynetworks.org/assets/files/news/consultation-responses/ENA%20Response%20to%20Consultation%20on%20RTS%20Future-with%20Appendix1.pdf"]PDF link for reference[/URL. So, less than 9 months left to replace all of those with new meters and timeswitches to stop people losing their heating service, but there seems to be no smart metering replacement plan in place.)

missmaybesaver

@Houbara - Wiring aside, there is a smart meter made by the brand Secure can run as either one rate or two rate and this definitely can be reconfigured remotely. However I don’t believe Scottish Power this brand.

[Deleted User]

missmaybesaver wrote: »

@Houbara - Wiring aside, there is a smart meter made by the brand Secure can run as either one rate or two rate and this definitely can be reconfigured remotely. However I don’t believe Scottish Power this brand.

Yes its a common meter now in use by smaller suppliers. Utilita and Ovo were the first to use them. Scottish Power and most of the big six can not use these meters in prepayment meter mode. They are fine in use as dumb meters though. They would have to swap them to go smart with Scottish Power
My info about suppliers not being able to remotely reconfigured came from the Eon rep on here a few months ago who mentioned the different wiring set-ups. Eon do use Secure meters
Secure Liberty 100 smart meters can be wired to be either single rate or Eco 7. Their keyboards access Eco 7 by button 6 and single rate on button 9

hotchywitchy

That's good information, thanks everyone.

The meter they fitted was an Elster AS300P, I double checked with SP and the engineer that it could run dual tariff which has proved to be pie in the sky.
It does say 'property of Scottish power' on it so would that make switching to another supplier tricky?

scones

hotchywitchy wrote: »

It does say 'property of Scottish power' on it so would that make switching to another supplier tricky?

Nope, that's standard.

They just plonk that marking on it because they bought and installed it for you originally. It won't stop you switching.

It's an oddity of the market that when you switch to a new supplier you keep your old supplier's equipment. But the energy suppliers seem to make the system work somehow - presumably because it would be ruinously expensive if they had to come out and change the meters over every time somebody changed supplier.

Carrot007

[QUOTE=scones;75960098_controlled_by_obsolete_radio_teleswitches_that_won't_be_supported_beyond_next_March_URL="http://www.energynetworks.org/assets/files/news/consultation-responses/ENA%20Response%20to%20Consultation%20on%20RTS%20Future-with%20Appendix1.pdf"]PDF link for reference[/URL. [/QUOTE]


And what makes you think it will not be extended again like the last 20 times? (That may be a slight exageration, but the first end date I heard of was pre 2006).

thorganby

hotchywitchy wrote: »

I have a house I normally rent out, the new EPC rules require me to have an Economy 7 meter fitted due to having electric heating, otherwise I can't legally let it out.

I requested this on 9/3 this year after my tenants left and I had new tenants wanting to move in.

Scottish power sent a contractor to fit the smart meter, I checked with him that it was a dual rate meter, he wasn't sure so he checked with his manager and I also rang Scottish power to confirm the meter would work.

This seemed OK until the EPC assessor came to check and couldn't confirm it was dual tariff. I have since been complaining to Scottish power who claim they haven't the system in place to configure the smart meter to dual tariff and can't come up with a resolution (I'm just supposed to wait!) meanwhile my house is empty and I have lost important income.

The last time I spoke to the complaint department I mentioned getting the Ombudsman involved as it's been over two months. Scottish Power replied that that could only be done if they haven't come up with a satisfactory resolution and as they hadn't come up with a resolution I couldn't do that! :rotfl:

I'm wondering if I can change energy suppliers to one who can fit a dual tariff meter and get it configured correctly, or am i stuck with SP until they get there act together.

Any advice would be appreciated.

posted by GWilliams | A year ago
Re: Eco7 smart meter rollout
Hi, I have a property that I rent out which is subject to the new EPC rules for letting. The house is currenty rated F36 but needs to be made more energy efficient to at least E 39-54. I have spoken to my EPC advisor who advised that the best solution would be to upgrade the immersion heater to Economy 7.

Somebody has been pulling your chain because an E7 meter is not a requirement for the new EPC rules!

hotchywitchy

thorganby wrote: »

Somebody has been pulling your chain because an E7 meter is not a requirement for the new EPC rules!

As I have electric heating, it was the only way to bring the EPC up to the necessary level, I know it sounds odd but as there is no gas supply the other options were ridiculously expensive.